June 2024: Rev David Nicolson

The Church of Scotland's Talking Ministry series shares personal stories from those serving in Christian ministry, along with resources filled with questions, prayers and reflections to help encourage reflection on how God might be calling you at this time.

For June, Rev David Nicolson talks about what inspired him to leave a career in broadcasting for service in the ministry and the challenges and rewards of being a new minister.

My ministry: Rev David Nicolson of Erskine Parish Church Parish Church in Renfrewshire

Originally from the Isle of Lewis, Rev Nicolson studied at Stirling University and Sabhal Mòr Ostaig Gaelic College on Skye before going on to work in Gaelic broadcasting as a television director.

He was inducted as minister of Erskine Church – his first charge – in 2019, and soon had to deal with the question of how to connect with his congregation is the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Married to Victoria, the couple have three children, Finlay (10) and twins Autumn and Isaac (7).

What inspired you to consider ministry?

I grew up going to church and Sabbath school, then I started getting more involved again in my early 20s and started volunteering to do things in church.

I went to Stirling University and did a BA in English and after Stirling I went to Sabhal MòrOstaig to do an intensive all-round course in Gaelic broadcasting, and through that I got my first crack at employment in broadcasting, which was based in Stornoway, but travelling all around. It was good and I was very happy doing that, but through being more involved in church and getting the opportunity to preach, it was difficult to resist the sense of being called.

It was just difficult to resist that sense of call.

I had the opportunity to preach, which, as a lay person, went surprisingly well. I just had an ability that I didn't know I had. And then, not long after, I was listening to a sermon where it was one of those moments where you think ‘Oh my goodness, I don't think there's anyone else in the church' because the message spoke so directly to me about leaving what was familiar to you and heading out to do what God wants from you.

There were lots of little things such as having lots of people around me whose opinion I trusted who said they felt this would be a good move. It was just difficult to resist that sense of call.

I found the Church of Scotland system quite helpful for someone like myself who was not entirely sure about my call because it allowed you time to explore your faith and you had plenty of potential jumping off points if you didn't feel it was right for you.

How did your training shape your ministry?

I studied remotely at Highland Theological College and did a bit of my practical training on the islands, but what was probably more formative for me was working at St George's Tron in Glasgow and working in the suburbs in East Kilbride. I feel that I got to experience in some sense the whole gamut of Church of Scotland ministry because there is so much breadth to it. In a city centre church you are obviously working with a lot of the particular social conditions there, and then the suburbs are very different again and they all have their own particular identity. I did some hospital chaplaincy too, so I felt like I got a good, well-rounded experience.

The main thing I learned was that there is very little that works universally. A lot of ministry is about spending time listening and observing in the area around you and being able to shape ministry and mission in a way that's sensitive to that rather than attempting to bring some sort of blanket approach.

What drew you to Erskine?

It was somewhere that jumped out. You get a sense about a place that you can't really explain, then you start to make enquiries and meet people and get a sense of whether there is a group of people you can work with and if there is enough of a sharing of where you want to go that it will work out well. You can get some sort of handle on that from speaking to people.

It was also a nice place for my family to settle. We had been pretty nomadic, so I thought it would be nice to find a good place to put some roots down for the family and I'm glad to say that's worked out. We feel at home here.

Just months after you were inducted, Covid struck. How was that experience as a new minister?

The world changed overnight, including just about everything that you had trained for in ministry. It pushed us online and so much good came out of that, but at the time I remember thinking that I'd been totally robbed. You thought that you would have a chance to learn the contours of your parish, but it was almost impossible to do that because you couldn't engage with people, except online.

There's a Jekyll and Hyde aspect in many ways because when I came to Erskine there was barely any functional tech, the sound system was awful, and there were no communications to the wider world. Covid meant we had to get all of that and we had some good grants to get that infrastructure into the church. Now that infrastructure is first class and allows us to do a lot and make more of the space as a community facility. There are all these plans that we now have as a result of the pandemic. People write to us and tell us that they are able to join us online and that is the only real option for them, so we are able to reach them now.

How active is your church in the wider community?

I am always somebody who has looked outside the walls of the church. Because we are a long way from when everyone went to church, there are a lot of folks with a lapsed or severed connection to the church that they can't even remember in their family.

But just because there is no formal church connection, I don't think that precludes God or God's spirit being at work. It's an enormous challenge to make that connection, but that is something I relish and enjoy. I will try, if I can, to pull down the wall between the Church and the wider culture and lot of what I do is orientated towards putting small dents in that wall. There are a lot of folk seeking some sort of connection with God, but don't have the language for that.

I speak to people in the community around us and they do actually have a desire to come to church, but it's a big mountain to climb for someone who has not been in the habit of doing that: it's alien, it's strange, they are really not sure if they are going to be accepted, and even our saying that all are welcome doesn't really translate into a currency that makes sense to them.

I think we need to start the relationship well beyond the church walls and it is through connection and trust that we build these relationships.

I do that by just trying to be a normal person who lives here and wear my faith and ministry as lightly as I can. I take God's word seriously, but I try not to take myself seriously and I hope that makes me approachable.

My kids are all at ages where they are at clubs every other day of the week and I make connections through that. You tell people about your job and that will start conversations. They will tell you about their faith experiences or their experiences of church, which have quite often been negative. Those things open the doors in terms of ministry.

I do a lot of chaplaincy in the schools in the area and run sports and fitness clubs and am chaplain to Renfrew FC. These are not religious environments at all, but they allow us to meet people we would never see in the church.

Chaplaincy has a totally different skill set from Ministry of Word and Sacrament. You have got to be very comfortable outside of the church environment and be really supportive. That's certainly not going to translate into any quick or easy converts, but it allows you to take what you are good at in terms of being someone who cares about others and also being a good listener and good pastor, and take that somewhere different, well outside of church.

What gets you out of bed in the morning?

I have always loved studying and learning to apply the word of God. I still put a lot of work into preaching and I see real results from that. There are very few things better than when you have put in that work, hearing folk say that it is making a difference to their lives and their faith and helping them make sense of that faith.

For me, that is job done.

And continuing to improve my teaching and communication skills and my ability to apply that to what people need – the stuff that helps us connect the world of faith and church to those who wouldn't yet call themselves part of our number. I find that really rewarding and enjoy finding new ways of doing that.

What are your feelings as you approach your fifth anniversary at Erskine?

I feel we have come a long way as a congregation since I took the job on. The pace at which we have been able to keep moving forward has surprised me. I thought it would take a lot longer and be a lot slower.

I don't have a grand vision other than I would like to see the church at the heart of serving the community as much as possible wherever there are gaps and using the church as a community facility. We are already doing that to some extent, but I would like to see us continually exploring that and the ways that might happen and making new connections in our community as well as maintaining the ones we have made.

I quite often joke to the congregation that I would like to do myself out of a job. I see my role as building up the people so they can do ministry for themselves and minister to each other. That's never going to happen 100 per cent in our model, but I would certainly like to draw out more gifts of ministry within folks and build up confidence and people's faith in others so we can go up a gear and flourish.

June Discernment Resources: The God of Surprises

Could God call someone like me?

I couldn't do that, I'm too young, I'm not smart enough, I can't speak in public, surely God couldn't be wanting to use me? Those may be just some of the thoughts that go through you mind when you start to feel that prompting by God to serve him more. Those negative comments that someone may have said to you when you were younger, that you wouldn't achieve much in your life, "Stick to your day job you can't do much else." Those are not God's words, they are not from the one who created you and knows exactly what you are capable of and knows that if you are willing to ‘walk on the water you just need to get out of the boat'.

And Jesus himself said, to encourage his disciples before he left them,

I am telling you the truth: those who believe in me will do what I do - yes, they will do even greater things, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask for in my name, so that the Father's glory will be shown through the Son. If you ask me for anything in my name, I will do it. John 14:12-14

It can be so daunting to want to take a step of faith and in some respects put your faith out there and say yes to God's calling, but sometimes you don't have to do anything at all. If God is calling you then there is often no escape. We read in scripture of many people who were just getting on with their everyday lives and then God surprises them, takes them unawares so to speak. Young Mary, the mother of God, engage to be married, excited about her future life with Joseph, then one night she is visited by an angel and before you know it she is going to be the mother of God. Moses, out minding his sheep, and before his eyes there is a burning bush in front of him, he realises he is standing on holy ground for God speaks to him through the bush, and has a job for him to do; to lead the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt and lead them to their promised land. David a young handsome boy looking after his father's flock out on the fields. He may have been looking forward to a nice quiet night, when all of a sudden he is called home, and before he can sit down and put his feet up he is anointed to become the next King of Judah.

Samuel 16:1 & 8-13

The Lord said to Samuel, "How long will you go on grieving over Saul? I have rejected him as king of Israel. But now get some olive oil and go to Bethlehem, to a man named Jesse, because I have chosen one of his sons to be king."…….. Then Jesse called his son Abinadab and brought him to Samuel. But Samuel said, "No, the Lord hasn't chosen him either." Jesse then brought Shammah. "No, the Lord hasn't chosen him either," Samuel said. In this way Jesse brought seven of his sons to Samuel. And Samuel said to him, "No, the Lord hasn't chosen any of these." Then he asked him, "Do you have any more sons?"

Jesse answered, "There is still the youngest, but he is out taking care of the sheep."

"Tell him to come here," Samuel said. "We won't offer the sacrifice until he comes." So Jesse sent for him. He was a handsome, healthy young man, and his eyes sparkled. The Lord said to Samuel, "This is the one—anoint him!" Samuel took the olive oil and anointed David in front of his brothers. Immediately the spirit of the Lord took control of David and was with him from that day on. Then Samuel returned to Ramah.

To contemplate/discuss

• Do I bring myself down and believe my own negative thoughts that I am not good enough for God to use me?
• Could God have gifted me with the ability to do what I feel called to do?
• If I just get on with my life and ignore God would he surprise me?
• Should I test God and ignore his calling? Or should I get out of the boat and look to Jesus and trust that he will lead me?

Prayer

God to be at this stage in my life, and to be at this stage in my relationship with you, is a surprise in itself, but to know that you can use me in your service is a huge surprise as well as being extremely humbling and affirming. Thank you that I am open to your calling and Lord I want to have faith like Peter, Jesus' disciple, had to call out to you and ‘walk on the water.' To trust that you will lead and guide me in the right direction. Thank you that you have used the most ordinary people in the past to do the most extraordinary things like becoming the mother of God, leading people to freedom and becoming a leader of a nation. Help me to trust in you and to know that you will use the gifts you created in me to bring glory to your name and to serve your people. AMEN

"The treasure lies in what you may consider a most unlikely field – yourself." - Gerard W. Hughes

More information

If you would like to consider how God might be calling you to serve at this time, you may want to discuss further with your minister or be in touch with your Presbytery to explore local opportunities.

If you are interested in exploring a call to the recognised ministries of the Church, you can find more information on our vocations page and can contact ministry@churchofscotland.org.uk for a Discernment Conversation with one of the Recruitment Team.